Brady bounces back with big game

Patriots running back Rex Burkhead, right, celebrates his touchdown with quarterback Tom Brady during the first half of Sunday s game against the Saints.
AP PHOTO

Tom Brady and Sergio Dipp both had big Week 2 bounce-backs in after opening weekend bumbles.

The Patriots' 40-year-old QB rebounded from a tough 16-for-36 debut to throttle the Saints' secondary with three TD passes in the first quarter on his way to a 36-20 win over fellow graybeard Drew Brees.

Behind Josh McDaniels' aggressive calls, Brady topped 300 yards by halftime and finished with 447 yards as the Patriots (1-1) put their 15-point home loss to Kansas City behind them

"To be 0-1 with a 10-day break felt like a year," Brady said.

Dipp must have felt like that, too.

The ESPN Deportes reporter was the subject of ample sneering after his awkward debut on "Monday Night Football" in Denver. But he produced a Brady-like ricochet with a classic tweet Sunday.

During the Broncos' 42-17 clubbing of the Cowboys, he tweeted a photo of a smirking Broncos coach Vance Joseph and declared, "I tried to tell you all. ... Vance Joseph is having the time of his life!!! "

Well played.

Joseph did have a good time -- except for calling a timeout that allowed Dallas to kick a long field goal just before halftime. Dallas had no timeouts left and Joseph had all three of his, so he was hoping to get the ball back before halftime to extend a 21-7 lead.

After Jason Witten caught a 7-yard pass, Joseph called time with 1:33 left, something he admitted Monday was a mistake because he couldn't see the line of scrimmage well and thought it was only a 4-yard gain.

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"So that was a rookie coach making a rookie mistake," Joseph said. "I heard about from (D-line coach Bill) Kollar: 'What are you doing?' Sorry, coach, I thought it was a 4-yard gain. So, I was chastised for it by Bill Kollar. That won't happen again."

The Broncos, by the way, held a classy reunion for DeMarcus Ware, who spent his first nine seasons in Dallas before a three-year run in Denver, where he won his only Super Bowl ring.

He was introduced not as a former Bronco but simply as an honorary captain for the coin flip.

"I had an opportunity from two great owners to have 12 years of fun," said Ware, who took his young son to midfield for the coin toss.

"He loves football," Ware said. "But I'm not going to push him into football. I said, 'Daddy's played enough football. Why don't you play a little basketball, so you can get a little extra guaranteed money?"'

The Steelers honored longtime president and chairman Dan Rooney five months after his death. Ben Roethlisberger took a knee in prayer and then sprinted to midfield holding the flag honoring Rooney. Roethlisberger showed off a T-shirt afterward that was a tip-of-the-cap to the man who meant so much to Pittsburgh.

"I had tears in my eyes" during the introduction, Roethlisberger said.

So did many others.

"An emotional game for us," Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said after the Steelers' 26-9 victory over the Vikings. "My first regular-season home game without Mr. Rooney. It was great to be a part of the recognition of him and his services and all that he has provided us."

Among the more dubious decisions in Week 2 was Bears rookie Tarik Cohen's ill-advised choice to scoop a punt off the ground while surrounded by Buccaneers and run with it deep in Chicago territory. He couldn't hold on and the Bucs recovered. That set up Tampa Bay's first touchdown, Jameis Winston's 13-yard pass to Mike Evans.

"We wanted a pick-me-up for our fans" who dealt with Hurricane Irma last week, Winston said after delivering just that with a 29-7 win over the Bears.

Bears coach John Fox said Monday that Mike Glennon will start against Pittsburgh this weekend despite a rough outing at Tampa Bay that fueled more calls for No. 2 overall draft pick Mitchell Trubisky. Glennon flopped in his return to the city where he spent his first four years. Signed by Chicago in the offseason, he threw two interceptions, one getting returned for a touchdown. He also lost a fumble on a sack, leading to another TD for Tampa Bay.

LET'S DANCE: Von Miller joked that the Broncos held a dance party during their 62-minute lightning delay, but Marshawn Lynch's dance moves were no joke.

Lynch celebrated Oakland's 45-20 win over the Jets with a lengthy sideline dance in the fourth quarter that was shown on the videoboard, prompting cheers of "Beast Mode! Beat Mode!"

"I was going to join him," cracked his coach, Jack Del Rio. "But I thought it was best if I stayed back and continued to coach."

Lynch ran for 45 yards on 12 carries and scored on a 2-yard burst after a punt bounced off Jets returner Kalif Raymond near his own goal line just before halftime.

YOUNG YOUNGHOE : The Chargers fell to 1-13 in games decided by seven points or less since December 2015 when rookie kicker Younghoe Koo pushed a 44-yard potential winning field goal wide right as time expired, leaving Los Angeles a 19-17 loser to the Dolphins.

This came six days after his 44-yarder to tie it with a second left was blocked by the Broncos, who escaped with a 24-21 win.

Koo also missed a field goal just before halftime after a sack of Philip Rivers pushed the Chargers back. Then, at the end of regulation, the Chargers took a knee instead of trying to get a few yards closer after crossing the Dolphins 30 with 19 seconds left.

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